Behind the Glamour

I'm going to take you behind the glamour of professional baseball. To the part you dont see on tv.
It's assumed that all pro ball players are driving 100,000 dollar mercedes or bmw's and are racking in 7 figure salaries every year and living in a mansion on mtv cribs. That's what you see on tv. But im going to give you the real story for the other 95% of pro baseball players. This is the minor leagues. Unlike football and basketball, when you get drafted in baseball your not going straight to the big times.. You're going to the minors where most organizations have 6 levels you'll have to go through before getting a shot in the major leagues. Rookie Ball, Advanced rookie ball, Class A ball, Advanced Class A ball, Double A, and Triple A. The baseball draft has 50 rounds where about 35 of those guys will end up signing. On top of that each organization usually signs between 5-20 international free agents each year. Every year 40-55 new players are signed meaining 40-55 must be released to make room. That should kind of show how cut throat it is in the minor leagues. Spring training goes on through the entire month of march and into april which i already went through this year. Your put in a hotel and paid 70 dollars a week. On the other hand The Major Leaguers are paid 1000 a week. A typical day in spring training would consist of waking up at about 6 00 AM, and getting to the field and starting practice around 7. Pitchers at this time will condition while position players will do early work, which can range from hitting, to fielding, or baserunning. Around 8 the teams for the different levels break off to their own field and you'll do fundamaentals, stretching, infield outfield, batting practice, and pitchers will throw bullpens. this takes about 3 1/2 hours. After everyone goes into the clubhouse for a quick lunch and then back out at 12 30 to get ready for a 1 00 game.. Everyday will maintain that same schedule. Remember everyone is out giving that all because when the new draft guys come in older guys will have to be let go so its a battle to keep ur spot, and keep ur dreams of major league baseball alive. April 6th this year spring camp broke and all the minor league teams went out to their respective towns to begin their season. These are primarily in small towns with populations under 10,000. Living conditions are not very good, and good food is hard to come by, as when its 11 30 pm and u leave affter the game most places are closed. Most of the apartments available are not in very good condition and don't have a fully functioning kitchen.
The salarys in The A balls range from 1100-1400 a month.
Theres another group of players that get left behind after spring training ends and will be part of a program called extended spring. This lasts up until mid june when the rookie ball and advanced rookie ball seasons start. Players in this program have days starting at 5 am and will get 0 fans at their games, and just play at the spring training complexes. For these players, including myself, its another 2 1/2 months living in a hotel and getting paid 70 dollars a week. Working hard and trying to play good so hopefully u can get called up to A ball. If not ull spend the season in rookie or advanced rookie ball.

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